Forever is a Long Time
by oblivion-is-grace
Summary: When Jessica Gilbert finds herself in the hands of a feared original vampire, Elijah Mikaelson, she wonders if she'll ever make it back home in one piece. His startlingly indifferent attitude toward her creates tension. He is sworn to protect her from his brother, but he vows to never develop any feelings for this simple human. To his misfortune, she manages to get under his skin a


p dir="ltr"The sound of a door creaking open resonated throughout the hollow frame of the rickety farmhouse that I found myself in. I felt the heat rise in my throat when I thought back to Rose's words./p  
p dir="ltr""He should be here soon"/p  
p dir="ltr"emWho was he?/em/p  
p dir="ltr"I rose from the couch that I had been sitting as still as possible on. I'd been waiting anxiously for what was to come. I only wanted to go home. I wanted to run out of the house as fast as I could. Jeremy needed me, and I needed him at that very moment./p  
p dir="ltr"The only thing that I knew about him was that he was the vampire that Rose and Trevor claimed put all others to shame. All but one. They didn't paint a very vivid picture for me, but my heart sunk when I found out that he was a vampire. The only vampires I knew of, and was comfortable around, were Caroline, Stefan, and Damon. I usually wasn't even too comfortable around Damon./p  
p dir="ltr"The nearing echo of languid footsteps caught my attention, and my eyes lingered on the entry way to the room I found myself in. My heart was racing in my chest at a physically painful speed. I could feel it beating against my ribcage, and my throat became hot again as the sound grew louder./p  
p dir="ltr"He entered first, Rose and Trevor keeping their distance behind him as he came to a short stop at the sight of me. Cold eyes took me in, and it felt like he was holding me with an intensity that sent ice clear to my bones./p  
p dir="ltr"I barely had time to study his features or register the mere surprise on them before he vanished from my view. It's like he was a ghost. All I could think of were those piercing brown eyes that held me captive./p  
p dir="ltr"Faster than I could blink, he was right in front of me. He wasn't even two inches away from me, and he towered over my own body. His cold eyes hardened to stone as they flickered across every inch of my face./p  
p dir="ltr"I felt a sense of terror wash over me. I had never been this close to a vampire who had such an unforgiving look in his eyes./p  
p dir="ltr"He filled my senses. It felt like all I could see was black. I saw his tailored suit that was definitely made to be somewhat pricey. The scent of sweet earth and rich linen filled my nostrils. His eyes were simply enticing, though. I couldn't tear my own away from them. There was wonder in them, disbelief-hatred. There was also something undecipherable just beneath/p  
p dir="ltr""Impossible," he muttered to himself. The soft sound of his voice caused me to twitch the slightest bit. It wasn't the voice I would've pictured him with. For being the most powerful vampire on Earth, his voice was no more menacing than Damon's at his worst./p  
p dir="ltr"With the word, though, his eyes grew heated. He took a single step to close the bit of space that was left between us. I fought back as every instinct I had in my body screamed at me to move. Only small trembles shook me as I didn't know what to do. I was no longer worried about his voice, his eyes held all the words I needed to hear./p  
p dir="ltr"He inclined his head toward mine. His eyes tested mine as he neared me, and I pulled back from him, not knowing what he was going to do. I tucked my chin just enough, just in time to keep his nose from brushing against my own. His eyes moved to my neck just as his face disappeared past my view./p  
p dir="ltr"When his skin met mine at the base of my throat, my life flashed before my eyes. Sitting on my mother's lap as she sand the alphabet to me; teaching me the value of letters and words before I even knew how to speak them. My father pushing fist me, then Jeremy on the park swings back and forth toward the blue sky. My beloved friends inviting me to a party that I didn't want to go to. The sickness. The suicide. The darkest period of my life./p  
p dir="ltr"Stefan's face flashed through the shadows. His warm green eyes always weighted with concern. He would have lightened the dark if I had let him. I couldn't ask him to take on such a heavy task, though. My darkness was far too deep to drag him down with me./p  
p dir="ltr"The darkness was almost comfortable now./p  
p dir="ltr"Another conjured face appeared before me then. Ice blue eyes and raven hair. It surprised me how well he fit in the darkness, enforcing the shadows to bend to his every whim. How well he fit I'd seen such incredible levels of intensity on his face that they blurred together now, his every emotion becoming so easy for me to read. It was almost frightening that I'd learned to after everything./p  
p dir="ltr"All other fear was forgotten when the tip of Elijah's nose grazed my collar bone-the most sensitive area to have a vampire near. Searing warmth flared under my skin in the wake of his touch. I felt my face flush of all color as I braced for the oncoming pain. I'd never been bitten before, and I didn't want it./p  
p dir="ltr"Only when he slowly pulled back to stand at his full height did I remember to breathe./p  
p dir="ltr""It's human," he declared aloud, a hue of disgust tainting his passivity. A beat later his eyes cleared, and he smirked "hello there" he said with a raise of his eyebrow./p  
p dir="ltr"His voice was even more menacing because I knew that his laid back-border lining on "nice"-tone of voice wasn't true. From the previous look in his eyes, I could tell that it wouldn't take much for him to snap. He would kill me. I wouldn't put it past him. I had a gut feeling about it./p  
p dir="ltr"I was able to read people well by the way the held themselves and some of their general behaviors. I had always taken an interest in human interaction, so I based many of my high school electives on that kind of stuff. I knew that this man…thing was not one that I wanted to associate myself with./p  
p dir="ltr"He paced the floor for what seemed like hours but was really only a moment. He knew my name but refused to use it. Being in the presence of danger wasn't something that I enjoyed. He walked over to me once more, and I continued to shake in fear. He was farther away than last time, but he was still unbelievably close/p  
p dir="ltr""Well, we have a long journey ahead of us, so we should be going" he said, with his, once again, blank expression playing in his eyes. He tried to spare me by throwing in a slight smile, but it wasn't working. He was a dangerous man, and I wanted nothing to do with him. I stepped aside to make eye contact with Rose/p  
p dir="ltr""Please, don't let him take me" I pleaded as I felt his eyes on me. Rose made eye contact, but then looked down in shame. I knew that she needed to choose between me and her brother. Given the decision between her and my brother, I knew who I would choose. However, I, too, would feel slightly torn. I had done nothing wrong. I didn't know why this was the fate that was waiting for me./p  
p dir="ltr""One last piece of business, then we're done" he said, and I looked back into his eyes. He wasn't a man who was willing to play games. He wanted me because of my status as the doppelganger; Rose told me that it was the only quality that set me aside for the original vampire. He turned, making eye contact with me until he had to. He walked over to a scared Trevor. My heart went out to him./p  
p dir="ltr""I have waited so long for this day, Elijah. I am truly, very sorry" Trevor said with a shaking voice. His name was Elijah!/p  
p dir="ltr""Well, your apology is not necessary" Elijah stated as he walked in a slow circle around Trevor./p  
p dir="ltr""Yes, yes it is" Trevor said as he looked down at the floor "you trusted me with Katerina, and I failed you"/p  
p dir="ltr""Why, yes. You are the guilty one. Rose aided you because she was loyal to you, that I honor" Elijah said, and he stopped to face Trevor "where was your loyalty?" he asked the question in a menacing tone. Trevor wasn't able to make eye contact because of his great amounts of shame and fear he had. I knew his life was on the line./p  
p dir="ltr""I beg your forgiveness" he said, finally looking up into the originals eyes. I was hopeful now, for his sake. Yes, they had captured me. However, when I put myself into their shoes, I knew that I would've done the exact same for my own brother. My relationship with Jeremy is only 16 years into the making. Rose's relationship with Trevor was 500+ years in the making, and they went through so much with each other./p  
p dir="ltr""So granted" Elijah said, and there was a moment of complete silence. He swiped his hand quickly, and decapitated Trevor. Rose was in shock, but I was in complete fear for my life. If he did that to Trevor, what would he do to me?/p  
p dir="ltr"I heard a sob erupt from Rose's lips. She clutched her chest, feeling like her heart could fall out. I had nothing but pity for her. I knew what it felt like to lose someone you cared about. However, I knew nothing about losing the very last person in your life. I could only imagine the pain, and it brought tears to my eyes. My hand covered my mouth, and I was in shock. I had just watched Elijah kill someone. A man just died in front of me. I felt the image being etched into my memory./p  
p dir="ltr""You…you monster" Rose shouted through her tears/p  
p dir="ltr""Don't, Rose, now that you're free" Elijah said as he fixed his cufflinks. I swallowed hard as I watched the tears stream down her face. He held out his hand, and walked toward me. His eyes fixed on my scared gaze "come" he said simply./p  
p dir="ltr""No" I stated blankly, and he raised an eyebrow. He was going to kill me whether I went with him or not. I wanted to at least try to escape. I needed to try for Jeremy's sake. He couldn't lose another person./p  
p dir="ltr""Excuse me?" he asked, and I swallowed hard./p  
p dir="ltr""I'm not going with you" I said, and a smirk came over his face. His eyes were burning with fury, but he still kept his collected stature intact./p  
p dir="ltr""I see one of two things happening right now," he said "either you willingly walk out to my vehicle with me, or I can force you out to my vehicle. I think both of us would not prefer the latter" he said, and I narrowed my eyes at him./p  
p dir="ltr""I have people who depend on me to go home every night. I will never willingly follow a monster like-" I didn't get to finish my sentence as I was pushed up against the wall by Rose./p  
p dir="ltr""This is your fault" she said. I felt a searing pain traveling through my entire body. I felt the heat rushing all around. It felt like each blood vessel in my body was on fire and there was a wildfire in my abdomen./p  
p dir="ltr""NO!" Elijah's voice boomed. He was in front of me in the blink of an eye. His face showed nothing but genuine worry and concern for my safety. Rose disappeared from in front of me. Elijah glanced at me and then in the direction that Rose took off in./p  
p dir="ltr"He decided against going after her. Instead, he focused on me. I felt dizzy, and I fell onto the floor. I reached down to where the warmth was coming from. My fingers touched the wetness, and I brought them back up to look at what was on them. Blood. She had stabbed me. I felt Elijah's arms around me, lifting me up from the floor "I can heal you" he declared, and he ripped off the skin from his wrist./p  
p dir="ltr"I looked down at the blood that inhabited his skin. He held his wrist in front of my face, and I shook my head. Did he seriously want me to drink it? I looked up into his eyes. The world turned fuzzy all around me "Jessica, please" he begged me, and I couldn't ignore the genuine worry in his voice./p  
p dir="ltr""I'll be okay" I said, clutching my abdomen. I couldn't feel it that much anyway. It was just an overwhelming feeling of numbness./p  
p dir="ltr""You're not going to make it very far with a wound like that" he said/p  
p dir="ltr""I'd rather die than take anything from you" I said, looking up into his vulnerable eyes. I pulled away from him, and I heard the front door burst open./p  
p dir="ltr""Jessica," I heard the familiar voice of Stefan./p  
p dir="ltr""Who is that?" Elijah asked in a hushed voice./p  
p dir="ltr""They're here to take me home" I said with a faint smile. I tried to hold myself up as my breaths became more and more labored. I tried to keep my balance, but I failed. I fell back down onto the floor./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
hr /  
p dir="ltr"I crouched by Stefan's side as he lay sprawled across the bottom step. He was badly injured, but healing. My wound was still bleeding, but there was nothing I could do to stop that. My rescuers were easily being overtaken though my captors had suffered much worse. Only moments ago, I watched as Elijah broke Trevor's head clean from his shoulders as if he were nothing more than fragile glass dropped upon the hardwood floor./p  
p dir="ltr"Rose fled after stabbing me, so Elijah was alone in this battle./p  
p dir="ltr"A horrible cracking sound drew my attention back across the entryway. I watched in shock as Damon charged toward the enraged intruder with the rigid coat hanger stake, its end shaped to a jagged point. Somewhere in the speed of the scuffle of it, though, it had changed hands./p  
p dir="ltr"My mouth gaped in horror, doing what I could to not cry out as the point was so swiftly turned around toward the elder Salvatore that it blurred in the air, leaving no time for him to avoid it. I felt my knees threaten to buckle from beneath me as Damon fell to his own knees, the large stake driven painfully deep into his stomach. It was too close to his heart for me to be calm./p  
p dir="ltr"I ran over to him as if there was nothing wrong with me. My vision was blurry, and the room was beginning to spin a bit; however, Damon needed my attention. My own pain was gone as I knelt down next to him. I brushed the hair from his face, and he looked into my eyes. His mouth was opened slightly, as if he was shocked that he was even in the situation. I touched his face as a weak smile took over his lips./p  
p dir="ltr"I looked down at the stake in his torso. I examined it before looking up into his eyes. He had a look of knowing as I wrapped my fingers around the visible part of the makeshift stake. I wrapped my left arm around him, and I felt his fingers digging into my back as I pulled the stake from his chest. The pain didn't faze me, though. Once the stake was out, he slouched against the wall./p  
p dir="ltr""It's time to go" I heard Elijah's voice, but I shook it off. I acted as if I didn't hear what he said. I directed all of my attention to Damon because he needed me the most in this situation. I took the opportunity to brush the hair from his face again and look into his piercing blue eyes./p  
p dir="ltr""Human," Elijah said with a stern voice. I felt his touch on my shoulder, and I pulled away like I'd been burned. His voice held none of the previous emotion in it. He had no tone of insecurity./p  
p dir="ltr""Don't touch me" I hissed out/p  
p dir="ltr""I need to do what I need to do" he said, and I felt the fury building up. Damon took my hand in his, and I looked into his eyes again. He had such an understanding look in them. I'd never been cruel, but I needed to let it out./p  
p dir="ltr"I stood up from my kneeling position in front of Damon. I turned around to face the malicious vampire who had taken the life of Trevor, and who almost took the lives of my friends. I looked at Stefan before the fury erupted out of me./p  
p dir="ltr""Look what you've already done!" I shouted "you almost killed my friends, and I almost died. What have you done to benefit anyone besides yourself?" I asked in an angry voice "you're a monster, and I don't want your hands on me ever again. Do you understand me?" I asked, and he bowed his head slightly, acknowledging my words/p  
p dir="ltr""It's time for us to leave" he said, and I felt my eyes brim with tears at his statement. I blinked them away before he could see them. I wouldn't let him see me as a weak and vulnerable human./p  
p dir="ltr""I need a minute" I said, and he nodded his head. I knelt back down next to Damon, and he looked up into my eyes with sadness clouding over his vision. I knew that he wanted to save me, but he wasn't in the health or place to do that "I need you to do something for me" I said, and he glanced down at my abdomen./p  
p dir="ltr""You're hurt" he choked out, pointing at my wound. It was still bleeding./p  
p dir="ltr""I'm fine. It'll be okay in a little while" I said, and I felt the dizziness taking over again. I fought it with everything I had because I needed Damon to know a few things before Elijah took me away from them. I knew that I'd never see my brother or friends again. Damon's face became a bit blurry, but I just focused even harder on him "I need you to take care of Jeremy no matter what happens. He's going to need you"/p  
p dir="ltr""What do I tell him?" he asked, maintaining a strong persona for me/p  
p dir="ltr""Tell him that I love him very much, but I needed to get away for a little while. I had too much going on, and I couldn't handle it anymore. Tell him that I'm traveling around" I said "if he can stay with you at the boarding house, that'd be great. Make sure he gets to bed before midnight on school nights. His curfew for the weekends is 1 in the morning. If he gets home later than that, make sure to take an hour just to lecture him. He hates being lectured, and he'll never be late again" I said/p  
p dir="ltr""If you go into my bedroom, my journal is under my mattress. I have everything written down about him in there. I have his blood type, social security number, favorite things, and other important details" I said, and he nodded/p  
p dir="ltr""I'll take care of him, and I'll make sure to come and find you. I won't let this be the last time I see you, I promise" he said, and I smiled at him with weak lips./p  
p dir="ltr""Don't make promises you might not be able to keep" I said, and he nodded his head. I kissed the top of his head with quivering lips. I didn't want to leave his side because I was afraid of what Elijah would do to me. Standing up was a challenge, but I managed to do it. I walked over to a weak Stefan who was standing in the spot where he'd once been lying down./p  
p dir="ltr"I wrapped my arms around him, feeling the jolting pain in my abdomen. I let out a sharp breath when the pain hit me like a wave. I suppressed it for the moment, and I felt my labored heartbeat pumping in my chest. I was putting it under too much pressure. Stefan's arms wrapped around me with his usual protectiveness./p  
p dir="ltr""We'll get to you. I won't let anything bad happen to you. We'll find you and kill him as soon as possible" he said, and I stiffened. For some reason, the thought of Elijah being hurt, made me quiver. Even though he was a monster, I didn't wish death upon him./p  
p dir="ltr""I'm going to be fine, Stefan" I said "I have to be fine"/p  
p dir="ltr""You're hurt" he said/p  
p dir="ltr""Don't worry about that. It doesn't hurt" I lied/p  
p dir="ltr"As if on cue, the walls started spinning again. I felt heat creeping all over my body, and sounds were so far away. I could hear the frantic beating of my heart in my chest as the blood pumped through every inch of my body./p  
p dir="ltr"I focused on Stefan, knowing that my impending departure with Elijah may be my last time to see any traces of my old life. I couldn't turn off the natural effects that the wound was having on my body, though. I didn't know how bad it was, and I didn't really want to./p  
p dir="ltr"I tried to catch my breath, but I failed. My breaths came in shallow puffs, and I became frightened for my life. What if I suffocated here and now? Damon and Stefan would have to watch me die, and Elijah would have no reason to refrain from killing them at that point./p  
p dir="ltr"I could see Stefan's lips moving, but I couldn't hear him. The only sound that was coming to me was the sound of my own heartbeat. It came irregularly. I was no doctor, but I knew that it wasn't good./p  
p dir="ltr""I'm dying" I said. I didn't know if they could hear me or not, but I said it over and over again "I'm dying. I'm dying" I panicked as dark rings formed around the edges of my vision. I felt my body being turned around, and Elijah's face filled my vision./p  
p dir="ltr"He brought his wrist up to his mouth, and he bit into it. I began to reject it, but he forced it into my mouth. With one arm he held me against him-my back pressed firmly against his torso-and the other was being forced upon me. His blood filled my mouth, and I felt the tears streaming down my cheeks. I didn't want this. I didn't want his blood running through my veins. That's what happened when one drank from a vampire. It spread through the drinkers veins./p  
p dir="ltr""Swallow it" I heard his voice clearly. Even though every other sound was gone from my senses completely, I could still hear him. I shook my head, and he turned me around to look at him. He looked into my eyes. I saw his pupils dilate "swallow it" he commanded, and I did./p  
p dir="ltr"I felt the liquid sliding down my throat like the softest velvet. I felt it mixing with my own blood, and it fought the fire that was going on in my abdomen. A hand wrapped itself around my upper arm, and I was being dragged out of the house. My senses weren't back yet, so I didn't even feel well enough to move./p  
p dir="ltr"When we reached the door, Elijah slammed it open. He tugged me along at a fast pace toward a black blob. I knew it was a car, but I couldn't even make it out. My senses kicked back in, and I felt dizzy./p  
p dir="ltr""Elijah, wait" I said, but he ignored me. He continued to pull me along, and I felt a wall of sickness crash into me. I fell to the ground only 15 feet from the black Cadillac Escalade. I caught myself with my hands and knees. All of my limbs shook because of my weak state./p  
p dir="ltr""Get up" I heard him command/p  
p dir="ltr""Give me a second" I said with tears burning my vision. The though of his blood-this demon's blood-in my system made me gag. I kept from crying as my stomach emptied the little contents that was left in it. Once I was done, Elijah grabbed my arm and pulled me up onto my feet. He dragged me toward the car, opened the passenger door, and helped me in with quite a bit of force. He closed the door, and I watched as he walked over to the driver's side./p  
p dir="ltr"He got in, and I watched every move he made. Even in his state of rage, he still moved with such grace and eloquence. His head of brown hair wasn't neatly parted like it was when I'd first met him. It was a bit disheveled. His fingers curled around the steering wheel with aggravation./p  
p dir="ltr""I think you should know that if your friends come to get you, I will not cease to kill them" he said, and I felt my heart drop./p  
p dir="ltr""You're a monster" I said, clenching my jaw/p  
p dir="ltr""I haven't claimed otherwise, human" he said with wickedness clear in his voice./p 


End file.
